Sword Art Gay
by NarutoBladeMasterxX69XxRaven
Summary: Kazuto Kirigaya is a normal teenager; playing video games, going to school and watching the daily MMO stream. But when he jumps into the world of sword art online, he becomes Kirito, the daring swordsman of everyone's dreams. What will he do when it seems his new reality IS virtual? Have daring battles and steamy romance, of course!
1. Chapter 1

**In the year 2022**

"Hi There!" the announcer's cheery voice filled the blank parts of the room. "Time for this week's MMO Stream. You just saw a promo of today's featured game. And this is what last week's launch day looked like:" Images of satisfied customers and ecstatic hardcore gamers filled the screen. Lines wrapping around the few video game stores that offered it this early extended blocks long. Some even looked like they had slept outside of them for days in anticipation of the release. "Can you guess what everyone's waiting for?" she continued. "Sword Art Online!"

Kirito flipped through the NerveGear magazine he had set on his lap. He turned over the pages, and was met by an article called " _クリスマスは今年初めに来た：ソードアートオンラインのオープンゲイのクリエイターの新しいスクープ_." His eyes lingered on a picture of a man in a white lab coat, leaning with effortless sex-appeal against the table behind him. Kirito recognized the man immediately, he would know those kneecaps anywhere. The boy stroked the photograph, admiring Akihiko's thighs, then sighed and moved his finger along the edge of the magazine. He felt a prick and lifted his thumb to see a sliver of blood seeping through a fresh paper cut. Kirito turned off the stream. He'd already had access to the servers for a month, working as a beta tester. But that was a whole other story. Kirito heard pounding footsteps through the thin walls, and a goodbye from his sister before slamming the door. "Hey, I'm off to practice now. See you later, okay?"

The house was then silent, and Kirito was alone. He took his NerveGear headset off of his nightstand and placed it over his head. "Link Start!"

Flashes of blinding colors filled the screen and Kirito was transported to the magical world of Sword Art Online. The town square of the Town of Beginnings formed around him, swarming with new players as well as the occasional beta tester. "Hello, world! I'm back!" Kirito exclaimed, clenching his first roughly and feeling the rush he always got when first diving back into the fantasy VRMMO.

Kirito took off sprinting out of the square. He had to see how the first floor of the iron tower had changed since the many hours he spent as a Beta Tester before the release. "Hey, Bro! Wait up!" he heard from a musky voice behind him.

The black-haired swordsman whipped around, curious and a bit confused to who was calling him. "What's up?" he responded coolly. The man he saw before him had obviously chosen a more cheesy samurai-esque appearance for his avatar. Kirito himself had picked an avatar that looked more like a Shounen anime protagonist. Nonetheless, Kirito could only hope that this man's real face was as smoking hot as his avatar's. He dismissed the thought from his mind, as the red-haired samurai continued.

"Whew…" he panted, obviously having wasted his breath catching up with Kirito's amazing stealth. "You act like you know your way around here. You were in the beta test, weren't you?"

Kirito sighed. It seemed he had been found out quickly, but there was no use hiding it. "Ah, yeah."

"Cool!" he responded, placing his hand on Kirito's shoulder. The younger boy blushed slightly and tried to push the stranger off of him. He'd had enough excitement for the day. "Today is my first day, so could you give me some tips on the lower floors?"

 _This_ was exactly why Kirito was hoping to avoid outing himself as a Beta Tester. He had no desire to waste time training newbies when there were new things to be seen and floors to be cleared. In this world of Sword Art Online, Kirito was truly fascinated in getting faster, stronger and better. People like this would only slow him down.

"Yeah, I don't know if I… uh" Kirito tripped over his words, attempting to find an excuse to weasel out of this.

"Oh, please I'm beggin' you!" the stranger clapped his hands together pleadingly, trying with impressive determination to get Kirito to give up and help him. He looked up hopefully and gave Kirito a little wink. It reminded the Beta Tester vaguely of the flirtatious gestures he'd seen so often in gay nightclubs. "Look, my name's Klein. Good to meet you." The excited man pointed to himself with his thumb and waited for Kirito to return the introduction.

"Alright. I'm Kirito". He took Klein's hand and shook it, resulting in a relieved grin from the redhead. Kirito smiled, his hands on his hips casually.

"Argh! Oooh… hurts in the nuts… kill me now…" Klein fell to the ground, wincing and grabbing the region of his special purpose. They were now in a field outside of the Town of Beginnings, fighting the low-level wild boar that lived there. Kirito couldn't help but stare at Klein as he writhed in pain, and check out his really nice ass. Of course, this wasn't perverted or anything, everything was virtual after all.

"Oh, come on, seriously? You can't feel any pain." Kirito remarked, sighing with his hands on his hips while staring at his ridiculous companion.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you're right." Klein stood slowly, his health about half gone as seen on his HP bar. "Sorry, habit". He sheathed his one-handed sword and glared at the boars roaming in the distance with contempt.

"If you do your initial motion right, and activate a sword skill at the right time…" he picked up a small stone and aimed it at the boar until it glowed and then threw it at the large animal. "The system pretty much guarantees you'll always hit your target." The boar squealed as its ass was tapped and turned around to see it's attacker.

"Initial motion?"

The boar was already starting to charge back at Kirito, who matched the beast with his sword. "Here's an easier way to look at it" Kirito continued. "Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home!"

"Drive it home?"

Kirito pushed the boar towards Klein, giving him an opportunity to strike the creature. Klein whipped out his sword and activated the sword skill as Kirito had told him. He drove the motion home and the boar groaned before shattering into millions of pieces of glass.

"Hoho! Yeah!" Klein shouted, dancing around where the now dead boar once stood. A white screen popped up before Klein titled 'Results'. Three lines followed, ' _exp 24_ ', ' _col 30_ ' and ' _items 2_ '. He stood proudly until Kirito interrupted his victory with a condescending laugh. "Congratulations. That was nice. But that boar's about as weak as slimes in other games are."

Klein gasped, dropping his sword, and crying a bit. "Holy Crap!" he screamed, "You got to be kidding. I thought that thing was a mid-level boss."

"Yeah, as if."

The red-head began charging up another sword skill, then striking the air as a test. "Whoa!" Is amazement gave Kirito the feeling that Klein hadn't done this before.

"Addictive, isn't it?" Kirito interjected, giving Klein a subtle smirk. When Kirito was a Beta Tester all he could think about was logging onto SAO and diving into the VRMMO.

"I'll say" he agreed. "So these skills… there's a ton of them, like blacksmithing and stuff, right?"

"Uh-huh," the beta tester responded. "I heard the game has an unlimited number of them." He paused. "All except for magic, though".

"An RPG without magic?" the newbie questioned. "That's a bold choice man!"

"So what do you think? It's kind of fun to move your body as you fight, isn't it? Of course, you could use the VRMMO interface to move your body in _other_ ways."

"Oh, hells yeah!" Klein said, choosing to ignore Kirito's potentially sexual afterthought.

Kirito coughed, ending the brief moment of silence that followed Klein's excitement. "You ready to move on?"

"Yeah, man. Let's keep going."

They trudged through the grass, exploring the beautiful world of SAO that Akihiko Kayaba had created. Kirito had seen it all before but found a new sense of joy in being with Klein for his first time through the game. "When I look around, I can't believe it." The skies of Aincrad were suddenly enveloped in twilight and Klein turned back to Kirito.

"We're inside a game, bro. Whoever made it is a genius. This thing's amazing… makes me glad I was born when I was, you know".

Hearing the mention of Kayaba made the hairs on the back of Kirito's neck stand. Of course, this wouldn't be the case in actuality, but the full dive technology still managed to send a shiver down the player's spine. "It's not that big a deal."

Kirito held back his praise for Kayaba. He knew that what he had going with Klein was already very good, even if just within the time frame of several hours.

"Cut me some slack," the redhead argued, "it's my first full dive!"

"You've never used the NerveGear before today, huh?" Kirito asked, surprised that Klein was more of a newbie than he realized. "This is your first time ever?"

"Uh-huh. As soon as I got the money together, I rushed out and bought all the hardware to play SAO. Stood in line and scored one of the ten thousand hard copies. I guess you could say I was pretty lucky." He paused. "Although, you sit, were ten times as lucky getting to beta-test it".

"Huh?" Kirito remarked, a bit confused by Klein's words.

"Dude, only a thousand people got the chance!" Klein was flabbergasted by Kirito's lack of knowledge about the immense privilege he had as a beta tester.

Kirito thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I was lucky". _Lucky to meet you_. Kirito thought to himself, smirking at his not-so-clever pick-up.

Klein continued. "Hey, mind if I ask how far you got in the beta?"

Kirito sighed, thinking of his adventures through the game in its primal stages. "Two months and I couldn't get further than floor eight." He brought his hand to his chest and looked out over the horizon, to the beautiful landscape of Sword Art Online. "But now, I think I can get there within a month, easy."

"Sounds to me like you're really into this!" exclaimed Klein, who was starting to get more excited from Kirito's enthusiasm.

"Yeah, you could say that," Kirito said cooly. "During the beta test, SAO was the only thing on my mind, day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real one. Anyway, you want to go do some more hunting?"

"You know it!" Klein pumped his fist in the air with vigor. "But the things is…" he lowers his hand and looked at Kirito apologetically. "I'm really hungry. I have to log out."

"Too bad the food you eat here only satisfies your hunger virtually." Kirito quipped.

"Yeah, for reals!" Klein agreed. "That's why I ordered a pizza for 5:30".

"Wow, you're so prepared" Kirito joked again.

"You know it!" Klein threw back, continuing their flirtatious banter. At the rate things were picking up, Kirito didn't doubt that Klein would be on top of him any moment.

"Besides, the game can wait until I get my pizza on" Klein finished.

"I guess…" Kirito mumbled, disappointed that at the near climax of their discussion Klein had to suddenly leave. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest, heartbreak or heartburn.

"Hey, I was going to meet up with some people I know from another game. I don't know what you're up to after this, so, if, uh, you know. If you want, you can friend them and hang out with us."

Kirito couldn't help that his expression so obviously dropped. He had hoped that what he and Klein had was exclusive, but maybe Klein didn't view them as that at all. The black-haired swordsman's heart sunk. Klein saw this and assumed Kirito was disinterested, and feeling pressured.

"No, it's cool if you don't want to… no pressure. I can always introduce you to them another time or something."

"Yeah, sorry. Thanks, anyway". He had learned over the years how to bury his pain and disappointment, so he smiled, trying to keep Klein content.

"No way! I should be doing all the thanking!" Klein said appreciatively. "Hey, one of these days, I promise I'll pay you back for all your help! Virtually, that is!"

Kirito laughed, "yeah, right".

"Thanks for everything, man, really. Guess I'll see you around, then".

"If there's anything else you want to know, message me" Kirito offered, trying to make their final words sweet.

"Oh, sweet!" Klein responded. "I'll do that." Klein swiped the air with his right hand to reveal his menu. He scrolled to the bottom to press the log out button and leave the world of SAO until he would return next.

Kirito looked at Klein's stubbled chin, long red hair and sexy figure. He inspected his hips, delicate wrists and kneecaps beat only by Akihiko Kayaba. The young gamer savored his last moment of Klein, expecting his former friend to dissolve away once clicking the logout button.

"Huh? Where'd the log out button go?"


	2. Chapter 2

**World of Swords (2)**

"Huh? Where'd the log out button go?" Klein asked, stumbling through the simple menu trying to find the button. Kirito exhaled, he had been holding his breath for Klein's exit.

"It should be there," Kirito said, assuming that Klein had missed the simple button. It was his first full dive after all. Mistakes were bound to be made.

Klein looked again. "Nope, it's not there".

"It should be at the bottom of the main menu," Kirito lectured. Klein was only extending their bitter farewell, and Kirito was a bit more agitated than depressed at this point. He swiped the air and pulled up his own menu.

"See, not there." Klein announced, Kirito agreeing once he looked at his own.

"You're right, it's not," Kirito agreed with confusion. This had never happened in the beta test, let alone in other full dive games using the NerveGear.

"Oh well. Today's, what, the first day out of beta?" Klein reassured. "Bound to be some bugs! I bet the server people are freaking out right now!"

"You will too," Kirito replied.

"Huh?" Klein was confused, not understanding Kirito's joking statement.

"Look, it's 5:25" Kirito pointed out.

"Oh my god! My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!" Klein shrieked, flailing his arms in horror while imagining this tragic loss.

"Why don't you just contact the game master?" the other swordsman suggested.

Klein ceased his tantrum to correct his fellow player. "Yeah, I did that, but nothing's happened! He's not picking up!" An icon labeled "GM Calling" appeared, as Klein tried to get into contact. He stopped, and then contemplated for a moment. "Do you know if there's any other way to log out of this thing?"

"No" Kirito replied. "Whenever a player wants to logout of SAO, the only way they can do it is by going through the menu".

"That can't be right!" Klein said, frustrated. "There's got to be some other way out." He karate punched the air and made various swipes with his arms, yelling commands in an attempt to convince the game to log him out. "Return! Log out! Escape!"

Kirito had to admit, his panic was kind of sexy. A little _too_ sexy. "Told you so." Kirito shook his head. "There's no emergency log out in the manual, either."

"No way, you're kidding." Klein was standing with his mouth agape, not sure what to do. All of his options seemed to be exhausted. "I know… I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head!" The redhead put his hands on his temples and tried to pull the nonexistent headgear off of him. The struggle lasted for minutes, as Kirito watched, not sure whether to be embarrassed for him or impressed by his determination.

"Don't bother," he said dryly, and in cryptic style. "One you're hooked in, you can't move your body in the real world anymore. The NerveGear intercepts all the commands you give from inside the game, using an interface built into the rig".

"Seriously?" Klein said, shocked. He lowered his hands from his head in defeat. "So now we got to wait until someone gets around to fixing the bug?!"

"That, or until someone in the real world comes along and takes the NerveGear off us. That's it".

Klein's shoulders slumped. "I live alone". Kirito perked up a bit, but tried to hide his excitement under his cool demeanor. "You?" Klein asked.

"I got a mom and a sister. And I'm pretty sure they'll notice by dinner time and come..."

The other swordsman rammed into his friend with excitement and grabbed his shoulder. Kirito felt a blush spread across his face, and tried to ignore the gesture as Klein spoke. "Y-you got a sister? How old's she? What's she like?"

"Huh?" Kirito said, eyebrows furrowing and eyes glazing over with rage. He felt his heart ice over and realized what Klein thought of their relationship. _It… it was going so well. Until….until I was betrayed. I should have trusted Akihiko. I should have reserved my love for him. Now I have been punished for it._ "She's into sports, and hates games. And she's totally not your type, man" Kirito continued coldy. "She wouldn't date a gamer if he was the last guy-"

"Who cares?!" Klein interrupted, grabbing Kirito by the collar and intruding into his personal space. "I want to-"

Kirito lifted his leg and kicked Klein's special purpose, sending him flying across the grass. Mere minutes before, Kirito was hoping that making contact with this sacred part of Klein's body would be out of love, but now, it was out of malice. Klein screamed and tried to recover from the immense pain.

"Oh, right". Klein stopped his yelling and removed his hands from his private square. "Getting kicked in the balls doesn't hurt".

"Get serious" Kirito snapped at his former companion. "Don't you think this is weird?"

"Yeah, totally" Klein agreed, still sitting in the grass. "But it's just a bug".

"This isn't just a bug. If we can't log out, it's going to cause some serious problems for the game". Kirito's worst fear was that after this mishap, SAO would receive serious backlash from gamers and press alike. Akihiko Kayaba would be blamed for the entire error, and shunned by the gaming world. Kirito could bare to see his precious prince be dethroned by a simple bug, as Klein referred to it. He just wouldn't let that happen.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Klein said, continuing the already dry conversation. Both were extremely anxious and hoping to logout as soon as possible.

"I wonder if the developers even know what's happening, 'cause they could just shut down the server and log everyone out". He paused and thought for a minute. "But why haven't they made an announcement?"

"Hmm…" Klein pondered. A bell began to ring, and suddenly the two broke apart into hundreds of colorful shards of glass. Kirito closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the two were in the Town of Beginnings' Square. Thousands of players were gathered, all confused and trying to ask the others players why this had happened.

"Do you know what's going on?" one girl yelled through the crowd.

"Someone forced a teleport" Kirito said, scanning through the crowd for Klein or a moderator.

Another player pointed to the ceiling, yelling "Look, up there!"

The entire mass of players looked up at the sky, where a small [WARNING] panel replaced a piece of the beautiful Aincrad view. Another appeared, and then a third, until the entire invisible dome now covering the top of the Town of Beginnings turned red. Thick red liquid dripped down from the ceiling with theatrical lighting, and morphed into the giant red clock of a game-master. The crowd erupted in confusion, unsure of what this strange thing was. A giant faceless figure loomed in the sky, looking down on the players of SAO.

"Attention, players" the figure spoke in an ominous tone. "I welcome you to my world".

Kirito stood, aloof and confused. "What does he mean by that?" he muttered to himself in the now nearly silent mass of players.

"My name" the hooded thing continued, "is Akihiko Kayaba. And as of this moment, I am in control of this world".

At the mention of that name, Kirito's knees buckled and he felt his legs begin to tremble. _Akihiko… Kayaba?_ The black-haired swordsman did not see the perfectionist beauty of Kayaba within the hollow face of the floating game master. He didn't see the exquisite kneecaps that his precious prince carried with him with every step, everywhere he went. And the voice of this _thing_ matched not to the the hours of interviews Kirito had watched, sometimes the same three-minute clips over and over until he had every line of Kayaba's speech memorized. This person… this thing couldn't be Akihiko Kayaba. But something in the back of Kirito's head told him that it was.

"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus- the logout button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be".

"He's kidding, right?" Kirito heard Klein yell from somewhere else in the crowd.

"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the Nerve Gear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life".

Klein stood almost motionless, but turned to Kirito as everyone angrily shouted in denial. "Are you listening to this crap? He's gotta be nuts, right? Right, Kirito?"

"He's not" Kirito responded, quivering in his boots and not even bothering to turn his head away from Kayaba. "The transmitter's signals in the headgear work just like microwaves. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain."

"Couldn't somewhat cut the power or…?" Klein was frantic, but Kirito cut him off.

"That won't work. The NerveGear's got an internal battery". Someone in the crowd hit a gong, replicating the eery background noise of common horror films. Unlike the majority of the crowd, Kirito remained calm and collected. He was completely absorbed in fear, but for whatever reason, didn't feel the need to scream, cry or collapse. Kirito was aware that if what this figure was saying was true, he already had a leg up in this world.

"This is crazy! It's totally crazy!" Klein hollered in disbelief. Kirito almost pitied the poor player, but remembered his betrayal and said nothing.

The figure spoke again. "Despite my warning, the families and friends of some players have attempted removing the NerveGear, an unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world".

"Two hundred thirteen?" Kirito spat in disgust. _Thirteen… is my lucky…. number._

"No way… I don't believe it!" Klein yoddled through the crowd.

"As you can see, the international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If you're HP drops down to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system… forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain. There is only one way for a player to escape now- you must clear the game. Right now, you're gathered on Floor One, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

The crowd became even more vocal, emitting loud vibrations of confusions and rage from their virtual lungs. "We can't clear all 100 floors…" Klein said in anger and shock. "That's freaking impossible… even the beta testers never made it that high!" He bellowed the last bit in the audience, invoking fear in the crowd members.

The cloaked Kayaba ignored the shouts from the crowd and began to wrap up his monologue. "Last but not least. I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please have a look."

Kirito swiped his right hand in the air to open the menu, and then looked at his items list. A mirror was listed. Kirito clicked on it, and it materialized in his hand. "A mirror?" Suddenly Klein erupted into a pillar of light, making the young boy fear for the life of his potential lover. "Klein!" he yelled through the crowd.

"You okay, Kirito?" Klein called back.

"Yeah," Kirito replied, his heart lifted a bit hearing Klein worried about his safety. He looked around for his companion but didn't see him. In fact, the entire crowd's look had changed. The other players no longer looked like video game protagonists and samurais, but normal people. Kirito spotted a man wearing the same armor as Klein, who appeared to be the one who shouted at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm me," he responded. "Who are you?"

The crowd of players exploded into confused conversation, not sure where their friends had gone and who they were next to instead. One female player had been revealed to be a guy in disguise, his male partner confused and shocked. _Heh._ Kirito thought to himself in the midst of the chaos. _I should have done that. Lol. Pranked._

"Is that you… Kirito?" the Klein imposter asked, probably recognizing the slight smirk on Kirito's face from the jokes only he could hear. Inside his head. He loved that stuff.

"Is that you, Klein?" Kirito said at this declaration, pointing his finger at the stranger.

"But… how?" The still redheaded swordsman made a valid point. The intense detail captured in each person's actual face had been perfectly replicated within the game. If Kirito hadn't read up so many articles about Kayaba, he wouldn't have had a clue.

"The scan" he answered. "There's a high-density device inside the NerveGear rig. It can see what my face looks like, but how's it know my height and body type?" Kirito shuttered in excitement at the thought that Kayaba might be interested or even know the specific dimensions of his body.

"When you first put the NerveGear on, it had to do this… calibration thing. It asked you to touch your body all over like this, remember?" Klein patted his head, chest, arms and legs in demonstration.

"Oh, yeah, you're right! That's where it got our physical data!" he was glad to clear up the confusion, but disappointed that this was merely a procedure.

"But this… what's the point? Why would anyone do this to us?"

"I think he's about to tell us". They both turned once more to face the giant Kayaba, who some had forgotten about in the disarray.

"Right now, you are probably wondering why." the faceless man began to explain. "Why would Akihiko Kayaba, a developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." With that Akihiko melted away and his avatar broke apart into pixels.

Kirito felt blood begin to drip down his finger, where his papercut from earlier had once been. "It's not a game. It's real" Kirito spoke. "Akihiko Kayaba created a virtual world. He designed the NerveGear rig. The man's a genius! I've been a fan of his for a long time… so I know… everything he just said… is the truth". He paused. If I die in this game, I'll die in real life!"

"Come on Klein," Kirito grabbed Klein's hand and started to push through the crowd. He reached a small alleyway outside of the square, before Klein stopped him.

"I'm heading out right now for the next village. I want you to come" Kirito reasoned with his friend. "If what he said is true, and I think it is, the only way we're gonna survive in here is by making ourselves as strong as possible. In an MMORPG, the money you can earn… the EXP… once the game starts up, there's only so much of that stuff to go around.

Look, the fields around the Town of Beginnings are gonna be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points. Even if I'm level one, I can get there easy."

Klein hesitated and took a step back. "Thanks, but… you know those friends of mine I was telling you about… we stood in line for a whole night to buy this, and… they're back at the Plaza, somewhere… and I can't leave 'em."

Kirito's expression changed drastically. _If it were just Klein… but two more… or even one more…_

The redhead seemed to understand, and didn't want to hold force his new ally into something he didn't want to do. "Sorry. Can't ask a guy I just met to risk his life for a bunch of strangers, can I? So, don't worry about me. Get your ass to the next village!"

 _I was hoping that my ass would be somewhere else... not a village or two away from Klein._ He listened to Klein continue. "I'll be fine! Last game I played, I ran a guild, so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you taught me, I'll get by, no sweat!"

"Okay" Kirito said, not wanting to drag out the good-byes. "If that's what you want, I'll get going. But if you're in a jam, message me, okay?" He turned to leave, but was stopped by Klein calling out his name.

"Kirito! I… Hey, Kirito. You look better like this. Way cooler than your avatar".

Kirito felt a blush spread across his face and nodded back at his pal. "Y-yeah, and I think that scruffy face fits you ten times better, too."

Klein laughed, and Kirito turned to leave. With hesitation, he looked back and saw that Klein was gone. Kirito stared down the empty alleyway and tears welled in his eyes against his will. He turned back and began to sprint to his destination, wiping the salty tears from his face.

As he ran, Klein's face flashed before him, motivating him to run faster through the streets into the next time. He knew that if he stopped at all, he would be all too tempted to return to the Town of Beginnings and give up. Maybe spend the last of his days wrapped in Klein's strong arms.

A wolf appeared, trying to attack the determined swordsman. He took out his sword, and let it rip, killing the beast with a single solid stroke. _I've got this! I can do this! This world can't beat me! I will… survive!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Beater (1)**

Aincrad. A castle composed of iron and stone, that endlessly floated in the air, acting as the world of Sword Art Online. The base of the structure was over six miles in diameter, the floors held up by giant columns of sky. The hundred floors of this world held unimaginable amount of data and adventures. But instead of being admired and awed, Aincrad soon became a levitating prison enslaving 10,000 people as players in Akihiko Kayaba's sick game of playing god. But who knew god could be so… _sexy_.

An entire month had passed since the dreaded beginning of Sword Art Online's official launch. Within this short amount of time, two thousand people had left both the world of SAO and the world of the living. And yet, all players were still confined to Floor One. Kirito, a former beta tester, hadn't even been able to find out where the boss's lair was. Many players had already given up, but an assembly of frontline level fighters had finally been called together and it was time for action.

"Okay, people!" the blue haired man announced, trying to get the attention of the crowd of players. They had gathered in what appeared to be the ruins of an outdoor theatre. Crumbling columns surrounded a pit of granite steps leading to a center stage. Balconies and an actual building standing in the back. Players had gathered and sat in the stands, while the speaker, a man of short blue hair, spoke in the center. "Now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started." Everyone settled down, waiting for him to continue. "So anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game, the job I rolled is knight!"

Several of the spectators laughed as one called Diabel out on his proclamation. "Dude, there's no job system in this game!".

Kirito inspected the supposed 'knight's' face and figure, noting his handsome smoldering expression, even after everyone had been given their original bodies as avatars. Diabel's jaw was clean shaven, a stark contrast from Kirito's previous romantic interest. Thinking of Klein, Kirito shuddered, and tried to distract himself from the painful memory by focusing on Diabel's impressive biceps and hearty physique.

"You guys want to hear this or not?" Diabel asked, trying to calm down the rowdy bunch of gamers. _All I want to hear from you… are hopeless displays of affection_ , Kirito thought to even his own surprise. The blue haired swordsman's expression darkened. "Right, anyway here's the deal" he continued. "Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today." The players began to talk amongst themselves. This was big news, no one had had the slightest clue of where the boss was located… even after intensely searching the dungeons on the first floor.

"First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to Floor Two. The next step, is we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game! Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here! Do you agree, or not?"

The crowd responded positively with cheers, urging him to elaborate on his battle strategy and plans moving forward. "Okay, glad to hear you're all with me on this, now let's figure out how we're going to bear the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six. A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a floor boss. We need a raid group made up of multiple parties".

Before Diabel had finished speaking, players had already began forming parties with those they knew in the game. It seemed that many of these frontline players travelled together. Of course, this left Kirito at a disadvantage seeing as his only friend he had left behind on day one. He thought of Klein's face again, and sucked in a small sob. Kirito looked around to see if there were any sexy hunks left out of the mix, but everyone had already joined their parties quickly. _What a whole bunch of territorial sluts,_ Kirito ranted to himself. He looked up over his shoulder, and saw that there was one person sitting alone above him on the steps.

"You got left out two, huh?" Kirito said, trying to be friendly. After a close look at the person, who was wearing a maroon and white cloak covering their face and body, he realized they were female. He felt disappointed, but it wasn't in his nature to be rude about it.

"Not even" she responded. "I wasn't left out. It's just everyone seems like they're already friends".

That sounded about right. The parties were formed rather quickly, otherwise Kirito definitely would have tried to swoop in and get a good partner or group.

"So, you're solo too?" he asked, trying to break the tension between the two of them. "You want to form a party with me? You heard what the guy just said, we can't beat the boss on our own, and it would just be for this fight."

She nodded, and Kirito opened his menu and sent a request to form a party with the girl. The window popped up in front of her, and she accepted. Kirito inched closer to the girl, waiting for Diabel to address the group again.

"All right. Looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then…" as he paused Diabel was interrupted by a player emerging from the top level of the steps. "Hold up a sec!" he bellowed at the raid group. The sloppy bear of a player aggressively jumped down the steps, taking them five at a time. For a disheveled enough looking man, he was strangely agile. He eventually reached the bottom and took a few large strides towards Diabel, who looked confused but stopped talking, waiting for the man to say something.

"My name's Kibaou, got that? Before we take the boss, I want to get something off my chest! We all know about the two thousand people who died so far, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!"

Kirito felt his stomach churn. He was more than aware of what Kibaou was talking about. Most players viewed former beta testers as cheaters with an unfair advantage in this game of death. That would be true, but seeing as the First Floor still hadn't been cleared, the only advantage Kirito had was his unhealthy amount of sex appeal. And in a world where he was unsure things like that were even possible, this talent probably wasn't going to get him very far.

 _I bet… Diabel would appreciate it though. Lol. Gay._ Kirito felt a sense of excitement rivaled only by his interactions with Klein on that cursed day. He pushed the thought from his mind.

"Kibaou, I think I know who you're referring to" Diabel said, his shiny blue locks reflecting in the sunlight. "You mean the ones who were ex-beta testers, right?"

"Course I mean them! The day this stupid ass game started, the beta guys got up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners! They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests too! They were the only ones getting stronger in here. This whole time, they've ignored us like we were nothing. Hell, I bet there are some of them here! Come on out, beta testers! We should make them apologize to us, and we should make them all give up their money and the items they got! They can't expect the party to trust them when they don't trust us! Why should we?"

As an ex-beta tester, Kirito was used to this hatred, but still feared how the raiding party would react if they found out about his past. Normally, he would like being verbally berated by a more dominant male acquaintance, but Kirito knew that this was hatred… not foreplay. He could only hope that Diabel was more understanding, or that no one found out about his dark secret to begin with.

A tall and muscular axe-wielder stood, grabbing everyone's attention. "Can I say something?" he started. "Hey, my name's Agil. Kibaou, right?"

Kibaou nodded after huffing and crossing his arms. He obviously wasn't a fan of the other player stealing his thunder.

"I want to make sure I'm on the same page" Agil continued. "You say the ex-beta testers should be blamed for the rookie's deaths because they didn't help them, and you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?"

"No, you didn't" Kibaou said, saucy.

Agil pulled out a small brown leather-bound book, and showed it to Kibaou and the crowd. "The item store hands these out for free. It's a guidebook. You got one didn't you?"

"Sure I got one." Kibaou admitted, not sure what Agil was getting at. "So, what about it?"

"You know who was handing these out? The ex-beta testers." Agil turned from Kibaou and addressed the players instead. "Listen up! Everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, lots of players still died. I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here 'cause I want to learn from those players' deaths. I'm here because I want to find out how we're gonna beat the boss".

Agil accepted some brief applause and then sat down, Kibaou accepting defeat and returned to his seat as well. Once this small dispute had finished, Diabel continued with the briefing.

"Okay, can we get back to the meeting now? For info on the boss, it's all in here-" he held out his own leather-bound manual. "The latest issue of the guidebook you just heard about. According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions- the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword type weapon called a Talwar. He can change his patterns of attack, too." He closed the guidebook. "That's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The party that defeats the boss gets the EXP; and whoever gets an item, keeps it. Any objections?" The crowd remained silent. "Good! We leave tomorrow at ten in the morning! Meeting adjourned, people".

The players talked a bit more with their party members, and then slowly left the area. Kibaou even approached the blue haired knight to apologize for his disruption. Kirito hadn't gotten a word in with Diabel, but felt that the little to no eye contact that they made was enough to tide them over until their racey adventure the next day.

Kirito walked down the dimly lit street in the Town of Beginnings, the heels of his boots clicking against the stone walkway. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a familiar maroon hood, one that belonged to his party member in the upcoming raid the next morning. He approached the girl, who was sitting alone on a stone ledge. She had a roll of stale bread in her hands, and was slowly tearing off pieces as she ate.

"Those are pretty good, aren't they?" Kirito said, making conversation. In reality Kirito liked eating… other things… much more. "Mind if I sit down?" He hopped up onto the ledge and sat a few inches apart from her. She quickly slid away to increase the distance between them to a few feet.

"You really think these taste good?" she questioned, referring to Kirito's comment. She looked at the bread with a sense of contempt. Even with the hood covering the majority of her face, it was clear that it had wronged her in some way. She was eating it not out of hunger, but vengeance.

"Uh-huh. Since I came to this town, I ended up eating at least one a day. Of course, I got a trick to make it taste better." There were two, really. The first was imagining Kayaba's excellent knee-caps to distract from the wretched taste. Kirito liked to keep that one his little secret though. The other, he would gladly share.

"What trick?" she asked.

Kirito opened his menu and then scrolled through his items in the window. He clicked on one, and a jar materialized in his hand. He passed it to the girl, "Try it with some of that".

She tapped the top of the jar, and a glowing white light hovered over her fingers as she dragged it across the top of her roll. Thick yellow cream scraped across the top of the bread, and once she finished the motion the jar shattered into hundreds of colorful shards of glass. "Cream?" She took a bite, and after realizing the drastic improvement in taste ate it with haste, nearly inhaling the bread.

"I got it from 'The Heifer Strikes Back'" he added. "That's the quest in the village before you get to this one. You want to know how I did it?"

"Uh-uh," she responded. "I appreciate the offer, but I didn't come to this town to eat good food."

Kirito was a bit taken back. It wasn't everyday that he attempted to be friendly with people he had no interest in. Especially boring women that offered no prospects of a romantic relationship. "Okay. Why are you here?"

"So I don't lose sight of who I am" she said, still cloaked in darkness. "I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am till the last moment. Even if a monster beats me and I die, I won't lose to this game or this world, no matter what."

He didn't know if he could last sitting through the girl's monologue much longer, the pure ennui was sinking in faster than the realization that Kirito would have missed the season finale of DragRace. But when thinking of Diabel's stunningly smooth skin and slim fingers, he knew he could make it. Although, against the girl's claims, being killed by Kayaba's system didn't feel like the worst way to go. It seemed even a bit… hot.

"I wouldn't want a party member dying on me," he said coldly. "So try not to die tomorrow".


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four- Beater (2)**

The raid party walked along a thin trail in Floor One's forest, the party assignments leaving Kirito and the girl trailing behind. Diabel led the front, Kibaou walking behind his right shoulder. The two had shared drinks the night before and seemed to have bonded. They were close. A little… too… close. Kirito dug his fingernails into his palm and winced, but the pain was nothing compared to the lovesick feeling in his chest.

Maybe Kibaou would die during the battle. Then he would have Diabel all to himself. He might even have to comfort the grieving man over his loss. Kirito began to sweat with excitement. He realized that his behavior was becoming suspicious, and pivoted to making conversation with his partner. Kirito was unsure whether they were prepared for the raid, he had never even seen this girl fight, after all. "Let's go over it again. We're the backup. So, our target's gonna be the boss's minions- the Ruin Kobold Sentinels."

"I know" she replied blankly with little emotion. The rest of the group was already a few yards ahead of them, but the girl showed no intention of rushing to catch up.

"I'll use a sword skill to knock their weapons up and out of the way. When I do, switch and jump in," Kirito elaborated. If all went well and his strategy was followed, Kirito would be given a shining moment within the fight. He imagined Diabel giving him a pat on the back afterward. He wished Diabel could pat him in other places. But he wasn't a slut, duh.

"What's the switch?" she asked.

Kirito let out a slight gasp and turned to his left to face her. His eyebrows lowered with concern. If this girl was a rookie, it might weaken his attacks and he'd have to rethink his plan. "Okay, level with me. Is this the first time you've ever been in a party?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded. Kirito stopped and gave her a vacant expression of disbelief as she continued to walk. The girl eventually looked back to see Kirito bent over and groaning over this discovery. His thoughts were of pure disappointment. _If I can't use this girl to impress Diabel… why is she even here?!_

The raid party had arrived in front of the boss lair's door inside the first floor's dungeon. Large bowls attached to the walls beside the entrance acted as torches lighting up the dim corridor. The double door appeared about 12 feet tall and its wooden panels were covered with rusted metal, forming intricate Celtic designs. Diabel slammed his sword into the dirt floor and addressed the group."Listen up everyone," he spoke confidently. "I've only got one thing to say to you: Let's win!"

Kibaou grunted in agreement, and the rest of the players remained silent, all nervous about what would be waiting behind the door. "Come on," Diabel said, pushing the door open. The hinges creaked as the boss's lair was revealed to be a long dark gallery with a looming figure sitting at the end. The raid stepped forward into the room and the floor and walls lit up, revealing the shape to be Illfang the Kobold Lord, as expected.

The giant red beast jumped forward, crashing to the ground a few yards in front of the players. In its left hand it held a round shield, and in the other an axe with a long tailbone for a handle. Its stomach had a blue symbol painted on it, and a red and black cloth was tied around its waist. For one, Kirito was glad that genitals were being covered.

Illfang bent backward and roared at the ceiling, shaking the ground below. The cursor above its head glowed red menacingly. Below it, flashes of light formed the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, wearing medieval knight's armor that stopped at the waist. Their thighs and legs were covered in metal leg guard, but only a loincloth did the rest. Kirito's fingers twitched uncontrollably as he imagined Diabel wearing the same flashy costume.

All at once Illfang and the three minions charged at the group with full force. Diabel lunged his right leg forward and pointed his sword ahead of him, "Commence attack!"

The raid party charged at the enemy, Kibaou the first to make contact with a Ruin Kobold Sentinel. His sword glowed yellow as he charged up a sword skill and hit the minion's purple-lit staff. The hit erupted into a flash of white light. Diabel began to shout orders at the disoriented party, "Squads A and C, switch in!" Illfang began to swing his weapon down at the front line of players. "Here it comes! Squad B, block!"

Agil raced forward with his axe and blocked the attack, while Kibaou charged up a sword skill and hurled it at the enemy. "Squad C," Diabel shouted, a bit calmer, "keep guarding and prepare to switch! Everyone else, when you fall back, regroup and flank them! Squads D, E, and F, keep those minions off us!"

"Yeah, you got it!" Kirito responded. It was a pleasure to follow orders from Diabel, something Kirito didn't truly realize until they entered the dungeon. His blue locks of perfection were both intimidating and reassuring, and Kirito couldn't even fathom what was under that armor.

A feisty Sentinel jumped through the air, preparing to land before Kirito and beat him senseless. The black-haired swordsman held it back, and yelled a command at his female partner."Switch!"

"I'm on it!" she called back, speeding forward with her rapier pointed at the villain. She charged up her sword skill and her cloak lifted to reveal more of her figure than Kirito had seen before. Underneath her maroon ensemble, she wore a drab white shirt accompanied by a small red vest, leather belt, and crimson mini-skirt. As she plunged her sword into the minion, he couldn't help but feel distracted.

 _I thought she was a beginner, but at least she's got good skills. But I can't even believe what she's wearing! What happened to fashion sense, it's not like this is the Apocalypse._ His thoughts stopped. _I bet Diabel would be pretty hot in Apocalyptic cosplay._ Kirito quivered and he felt a small moan escape his lips.

The Sentinel cried out before bursting into hundreds of shards of colorful glass. "Right on!" Kirito muttered to himself, cheering on the girl silently and clearing away he sexual thoughts. Another Sentinel raced towards the two and they fought it off together in nearly perfect harmony. This sort of chemistry was something that Kirito as a solo-player had never experienced before in the world of SAO.

Illfang roared dramatically to the ceiling before snapping his head down and flinging his weapon to the side. He spread his legs across the floor and for a brief moment, both of his hands were in the air. Kirito wondered if he was programmed to do a dance break but then realized that the monster's last health bar had reached the red zone.

"Looks like the guidebook was right," Kibaou said smugly. "Stay back! I've got it!" another voice said through the crowd. It was Diabel, racing through the wave of players and towards the boss.

Kirito grunted as he blocked another Sentinels attack, falling back afterward and letting the girl switch in. He turned to watch the main raid party groups as they fought off the main attraction. _I thought the plan was for everyone in the group to surround it!_ He saw Diabel, his hair flowing as he raced forward and strong jawline looking as perfect as ever. For a second, the knight glanced back at Kirito and smirked, before coming face to face with the monster. Illfang whipped out his second weapon, revealing a long rectangular blade with a triangular section cut out at the end, attached to a sturdy handle.

Kirito gasped, nearly screaming in fear. _That's not a Talwar! It's a No-Dachi! This isn't like the beta._ "Wait, stop!" he called to Diabel, afraid for his love's life.

"Huh?" Kibou turned to Kirito, confused. Kirito screamed back. "It's no good! Get out of there!"

Illfang jumped like a spider around the columns surrounding the end of the hall, and Diabel began to realize the mistake he'd made. He looked up, gritting his teeth in frustration. He prepared his sword, but the enemy lunged down and knocked it out of his hand and sent him flying. The monster slashed the knight across the length of his body with his No-Dachi, and Diabel let out a guttural shriek as he fell back. Illfang whipped his weapon at the blue-haired knight once more, sending him shooting across the hall. A slash that started red and faded white towards the center generated across his torso.

"Diabel! No!" Kibaou shrieked, turning around to see the growling Kobold Lord directly behind him. It roared at the shocked players, grit falling out of his mouth onto the tiled floor below. Kibaou stared up at the monster in rage and disbelief, mourning for his defeated friend and potential-lover.

"Diabel!" Kirito squealed, sprinting towards his fallen playboy. The knight was sprawled on the galaxy colored floor, his shield knocked out of his hand and sword on the ground beside him. Kirito took seven steps and then slid down on his knees to finally give Diabel the kiss of life he'd been dreaming about for the past 12 hours. He wrapped his arm around the back of his neck and pulled him up, prepare to lay one on him.

He leaned in but was stopped by Diabel's groaning protest. Kirito brought him up further and forcibly shoved the player's face into his chest, muffling the potential yelps for help. "What the hell were you thinking?" he scolded, looking over his shoulder and digging through his bag for a potion or crystal to save his love. Diabel's health was already in the low red zone, if they didn't make haste he might not make it. Kirito turned back and handed the fallen knight a small bottle filled with red liquid.

Diabel raised his left hand and pushed Kirito away, groaning slowly in the process. Kirito looked down at him in horror, unable to understand the motion. Diabel grunted and his eyebrows twitched. His energy was draining quite obviously. He looked at Kirito soulfully and addressed him shakily, "You know- you were a beta-tester too, weren't you?"

Kirito gasped and felt his pulse quicken, not only from the blunt question but from the warmth of Diabel's hand wrapped around his own. If it weren't for the dying player's unattractive expression of defeat, Kirito would have screamed with pure bliss. Instead, he clutched Diabel's hand harder and savored what he assumed would be the last few moments of their budding romance.

"You were after the Last Attack Bonus- the rare item."Kirito stared into Diabel's eyes, the dying man quivering with his entire body in an attempt to keep his head up. The black-haired swordsman felt his heart drop to his stomach, he knew that he and Diabel had a connection unlike any other. "You're just like me, a beta-tester," he stuttered, unable to accept that soon his blue-haired sweetheart would be leaving him.

Diabel closed his eyes and winced in pain, but opened them again to look at Kirito one last time. "Please… you have to… defeat the boss… for everyone here!" Mid-sentence the player began to glow a light blue and his body erupted into shards of colorful glass. Kirito felt the warmth of Diabel's hand leave his own and stared into the empty air where his world had once been.

 _When this death game started, the only thing I thought about was how I was gonna survive. Nothing else mattered. But you weren't like that, Diabel. You never abandoned the other players. You brought them together. You led everyone, and you fought brilliantly. You tried to accomplish something you couldn't._

Kirito stood slowly and with care, as if Diabel were still there, lying right in front of him. Turning over his sword in his hand, Kirito looked back at the monster that had started this all. Illfang roared at the mass of players, pushing a gust of wind onto them and startling the massive group. Swords and shields clanked to the floor as they were knocked out of the players' grasps.

"I'll go too", said a soft but sure voice behind him. Kirito saw his partner step into view, right beside him. For once, he was comforted to see the girl's shadowy figure.

"Okay," he responded calmly. He pointed his sword forward and began to sprint at full force towards the boss. Memories of Klein, memories of Diabel, memories of all the men that had put their heart's in Kirito's hands flashed before his eyes. He sped faster, someone needed to finish this and he knew who it would be.

"We'll hit him just like we did the minions!" Kirito yelled at the girl running beside him. He glanced up at his health bar in the very corner, he was still in good standing, enough to make it through this fight. Below his own health bar, he noticed a smaller one, with the word "Asuna" written beside it in white text. It must have been her health bar, from when they formed the party the day before.

"You got it," she replied, with ease.

The Kobold Lord swung its No-Dachi behind itself and charged up a gleaming sword skill as the pair approached it. Kirito did the same, his black sword turning a fluorescent blue as he followed through with his initial motion. He let out a fiery battle-cry as their weapons collided. Kirito was sent flying back and Illfang tumbled off of his feet.

"Switch!" Kirito instructed from afar, trying to get back on his feet and assist his partner. She charged at the disoriented enemy, taking advantage of Kirito's attack. Her rapier glowed a blinding red as she whipped it back, preparing an attack. The boss's eyes twitched and it regained its balance, about to strike her.

"Asuna!" he called out, not ready to lose another companion today. Although, her loss would be nothing compared to… Kirito cleared the thought from his mind. In this instance, his partner was about to be-

She quickly dodged the attack, striking Illfang and receiving only damage to her armor. Asuna's maroon cloak disappeared, revealing her mysterious face for the first time. Kirito marveled at her long luxurious chestnut locks, drifting behind her delicately. For that moment, time seemed to stand still.

Hauntingly familiar glass shards illuminated her figure as she drew back her arm. Her rapier began to glow a faint red once more, and she thrust it forward into the boss's side. Kirito was taken aback by not only her skill but the gracefulness she carried.

But the moment was over just as soon as it began. Illfang regained its composure and swung out its sword to its side. The monster ran towards them, shaking the ground as it approached.

"He's coming back!" Kirito warned, stepping forward and clashing swords with the boss once again. Their weapons met, with a flash of sparks, the rebound sending Kirito tumbling backward. He glanced over, prepared to charge back in, but was met with a blur of light rushing the monster at amazing speed. Asuna pointed her rapier straight out and delivered the blow, sinking her sword into the beast's abdomen.

The room erupted in a blinding white light as Illfang slammed its No-Dachi down into the girl's sword. She pulled the rapier out and stepped backward, but Illfang began to follow. Asuna whipped her sword down, preparing to throw another sword skill its way, but Kirito jumped in between, his black and silver broadsword taking the blow from Illfang massive weapon.

Illfang began moving faster, sinking its weight more and more into each strike at the black-haired swordsman. Kirito gritted his teeth and matched each attack, taking the blunt force of them with sheer willpower. He wouldn't lose this fight to anyone, not after Diabel had given his life so heroically.

Each time their weapon's made contact, sparks flew about the dimly light dungeon. Almost matching the galaxy allusion of the floors, was a mass of color in the air surrounding the two from the sword skills they continuously fired at each other.

Kirito blocked hit after hit, stopping only for a split second. Illfang waved its No-Dachi backward and then slammed it into Kirito's body with full force. The momentum gained from that move alone catapulted him across the dungeon and straight into Asuna. His sword flew out of his hand and knocked to the floor, and both he and Asuna skid across the ground generating a path of smoke in their wake.

Asuna sat up, grunting, and saw the collapsed Kirito's health bar progressively shrink from a comfortable green to a solid yellow. He attempted pushing himself off of the cold tile floor but lacked the strength to do so. Asuna felt the room get colder, and suddenly the light that was surrounding them was gone. She looked up, only to see Illfang standing directly above them, weapon held high over its head prepared to strike down and obliterate both of them.

Its teeth were bared and the gleaming red of its bulbous eyes matched the threatening glow of its gigantic weapon. Asuna squinted, as she felt a gust of wind from the No-Dachi falling down on them. She was met only with the sound of metal crashing against each other, and opened her eyes to see what had interfered with what she had thought was her end.

A large figure dressed in light weighted white and grey armor stood above them, his battle axe swung back from the impact of blocking Illfang's move. _Agil_ Kirito thought, glancing upwards from his face planted position on the ground.

The monster roared louder as it was sent skidding back on all fours from the force of Agil's axe. The rest of the boss raid party sprung into action, running while yelling their best battle cries. Through the crowd, Agil turned around and stared into Kirito's eyes meaningfully. "We can hold off this bastard until your health's back up!" he reassured him, before rushing off to join the other players.

Kirito grinned, and propped his elbow under his side, raising up his upper-body."You got it…" he said to the already gone hunk of fresh man. He traced Agil's muscular figure with his eyes from afar. _Watching a body like that might give me all the strength I need_ Kirito voiced to himself internally. He loaded a red health potion from his inventory and drank it, watching the raid party fend off the attacker.

"Watch out!" Kirito yelled, jumping up from his position with a new sense of purpose. Illfang had leaped high and gripped its sword above its head. The No-Dachi glowed an ominous purple, as Illfang prepared to kill Agil, who laid helplessly on the dungeon floor.

Kirito vaulted into the air with extreme agility. "You're going down!" he threatened the creature, blocking the attack on Agil with the immense style and grace that only a lightweight like Kirito could accomplish. The two met in the air, but Illfang was reaching its limit and was easily slammed downward, sending a giant boom through the lair.

Kirito made no hesitation and continued running towards the Kobold Lord. "Come on, Asuna! Help me beat this sucker! One last attack!"

His partner trailed behind him, "You got it!"

The two charged in unison, swords pointed outwards towards the fallen enemy. It regained its balance and stood towering over them as they met its feet near the end of the hall. The beast squatted and took a battle stance with one arm open and the other positioned back to give its hefty weapon the right amount of momentum.

Kirito blocked the first strike with ease, the rebound giving Illfang a disadvantage as Asuna immediately switched in. She slashed it across the torso with her shining rapier, knocking the No-Dachi out of its hands. Her partner followed, ripping into the boss's chest. Kirito took back his blade and jumped upward, slicing the monster at close range, his sword deeper than any of the attacks before.

Illfang flew up into the air, and a giant red scar formed across its body where the damage had been done. Before the monster could hit the ground, its chest erupted into beams of turquoise light, until the entire dungeon was filled with a light so strong that Kirito couldn't see in front of him.

The light vanished and the sound of breaking glass filled the silent room. Everyone paused.

A congratulations notice in white letters appeared above their heads, and the crowd erupted into cheers. All the player's menus appeared, showing the col, exp, and items that each had received through the long fight. Friends and strangers alike embraced with delight and relief, most around the room on the verge of tears.

Kirito was left panting on the ground, only able to muster enough energy to lean on one knee. A translucent white rectangle popped up before his eyes, and he peered up to see what could possibly be next. The message was simple: "You got the last attack bonus".

The lights dimmed, and the now empty dungeon returned to the way it had looked when they first entered. The swirling galaxy floor was gone, replaced with plain stone tiles and a musty carpet stretching the length of the room.

Kirito heard footsteps clacking towards him, and turned his head to see Asuna and Agil approaching him.

"Nice job." his partner said cooly as if the two of them hadn't just defeated the first level's boss and almost lost their lives. She crossed her arms and slouched a bit, her composure completely different from fighting style Kirito had witnessed just minutes ago.

"That was some fine swordsmanship," Agil stated, his hands on his hips and toned body looking as fine as ever. "Congratulations- today's victory is all thanks to you." Kirito's expression remained vacant, this moment would have been perfect. But there was something missing… someone. He felt his gut sink.

"No" Kirito replied, the guilt and grieve hitting him like a bag of rocks.

The crowd disagreed, raising their fists for the victorious swordsman, some even praising him verbally. Kirito looked down, he didn't deserve this type of recognition when their own leader had-

"Stop cheering!" a voice interrupted. Kibaou pushed through the crowd. He looked angry as ever, but there was hurt in his eyes. Kirito knew the feeling. "Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diabel die?" Talking ceased, and silence took over the room.

"Let him die?" Kirito responded quietly.

Kibaou looked up, tears falling down his cheeks. "That's what I said. Admit it! You knew the technique the boss was gonna use. You could've told us! Then Diabel would've stood a chance… he wouldn't have to die!" The oh so recent memory of seeing Diabel's body being thrown about like a ragdoll by the snarling Kobold Lord flashed before Kirito's eyes. He didn't mean for this to happen, he had tried to warn him.

The players started to whisper amongst themselves suspiciously. "I know why he knew!" someone else piped up. "He used to be a beta-tester! Think about it! He knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us! And I bet he's not the only beta-tester here! Come on, show yourselves!"

The room began to mumble louder. The mood had changed so drastically in such a short amount of time, and now players were wondering whether their own companions were the dreaded cheaters they hated so.

 _This is bad…_ Kirito thought to himself. _At this rate…_ Diabel's blissful face crossed his memory once more.

"Hey! Calm down!" Agil said, stepping towards Kibaou. Normally Agil's calming demeanor might soothe such a protest, but Kirito knew it was too late. There was no turning back, at least not for him.

Kirito began to cackle loudly from across the room, drawing the attention of his fellow players. They all stared in confusion as he sat their, seemingly so amused by their argument. "So, you guys think I used to be a beta-tester," he said dryly. Kirito began to stand and faced the party. "It's not cool to put me in the same class with those noobs."

Collectively, the room gasped. Kibaou clenched his fist and yelled back him, "What'd you say?"

"You heard me" Kirito dead-panned. "Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies." He began to walk calmly through the crowd and towards the double doors at the end of the cavern. "They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were. But me, I'm nothing like those guys, man."

He halted. "During the beta, I made it to floors higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I know about the boss, 'cause I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors! I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker."

"W-what the hell?" Kibaou stuttered. "If that's true, then you're worse than a beta-tester! You're a goddamn cheater, that's what you are!" He squeezed his eyes closed as if it would make all of this go back to the way it was before.

The players angrily agreed, gritting their teeth and snarling in Kirito's direction. Through the crowd, someone interjected, "He's a beta-tester and a cheater! He's a Beater!"

Kirito smirked with one hand on his hip, and the other dangling by his side. "A beater… yeah, that's good" he remarked, still facing away from the group of players. "I like it. Okay, you can call me a beater. Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta-testers anymore."

He swiped his right hand upward, revealing his menu and scrolled through his items, dragging one onto his display avatar. A midnight black trenchcoat materialized on his body, blowing in the non-existent wind in the now drifty dungeon. He giggled, then walked up the short staircase leading to the entrance to the next floor. Asuna ran after him, while the other players stood with their mouths hanging open in shock.

"Wait!" she called out. Kirito stopped. "When we were fighting the boss, you called me by my name." She stood a few steps below him, her face still serious and composed.

"I wasn't trying to be rude. Did I mess up the pronunciation?" he asked with little emotion.

"How'd you even know it?"

"If you look right about here," he turned and pointed a few inches above his shoulder. "You'll see another HP gauge under yours. There's a name written right next to it, yeah?"

"Ki… ri… to… Kirito?" she said slowly, stumbling through the characters. "Your name's Kirito."

"Yeah."

Asuna laughed. "I'm so dumb. It was there the whole time and I never knew" she smiled lightheartedly and looked up at her partner.

"You can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes when someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down, 'cause there's a limit to what a solo player can do" Kirito spoke, sounding more sincere than his cold-hearted remarks before.

"But you're solo".

Kirito paused, then continued walking up the stairs towards the door. His sword clanked against his back as he took each step, the only sound filling the still room. He opened his menu again and clicked through various options until finding his party settings. A small request appeared in front of him, asking if he'd like to dissolve his current party. After clicking the light blue okay button, he found himself finally before the entrance. The next floor of many more was waiting on the other side. The doors opened for him and he walked through with determination, leaving everyone and this cursed floor behind.


End file.
